Coupler locklift hole cap

ABSTRACT

A coupler having a housing including a top locklift hole sealed by a removable cap. The cap is made from plastic and includes a cover plate overlying and sealing the hole. The cover plate is formed with an outwardly projecting bubble having a plurality of angularly spaced legs. Upon depressing the bubble inwardly the legs wedgingly engage the inwardly diverging side walls defining the locklift hole. The cap is removable only by force applied upwardly through the locklift chamber to return the bubble to its outwardly projecting condition thereby to release the legs from the side walls.

United States Patent [191 Altherr [451 Sept. 3, 1974 COUPLER LOCKLIFT HOLE CAP [75] Inventor: Russell George Altherr, Munster,

Ind.

[73] Assignee: AMSTED Industries Incorporated,

Chicago, Ill.

[22] Filed: Nov. 19, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 417,245

[52] US. Cl 213/158, 213/146, 213/147, 220/42 B [51] Int. Cl. .iI-L'I B6lg 3/04 [58] Field of Search 213/75 R, 158, 141, 146, 2.13/147; 220/42 B, 42 C, DIG. 19

I3 II Primary ExaminerM. Henson Wood, Jr. Assistant Examiner-Gene A. Church [5 7] ABSTRACT A coupler having a housing including a top locklift hole sealed by a removable cap. The cap is made from plastic and includes a cover plate overlying and sealing the hole. The cover plate is formed with an outwardly projecting bubble having a plurality of angularly spaced legs. Upon depressing the bubble inwardly the legs wedgingly engage the inwardly diverging side walls defining the locklift hole. The cap is removable only by force applied upwardly through the locklift chamber to return the bubble to its outwardly projecting condition thereby to release the legs from the side walls.

6 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures COUPLER LOCKLIFT HOLE CAP BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to railway vehicle couplers and more particularly to an improved closure cap for the locklift hole in the housing of a coupler.

Railway vehicle couplers of the type to which the present invention relates include a coupler housing on which the coupling units are assembled. The coupler housing includes a chamber in which a knuckle thrower and the lock are movably housed. The housing includes a locklift hole in the top which communicates with the chamber.

It is necessary that this hole, designated as a locklift hole, be closed by a removable plug or cap. The cap serves the function of excluding debris and other extraneous matter from collecting within the chamber.

A closure cap should be capable of being inserted into the hole and retained therein without using welding or special tools. At the same time, the cap should be constructed so that it is readily removable only when the coupler components are removed so as to minimize the potential for vandalism.

By the present invention it is proposed to provide a new and improved cap structure for the locklift hole of coupler which fulfills the requisites specified above and which is also economical to manufacture.

This is accomplished by the provision of a cap for the locklift hole which is molded from a plastic material. The cap comprises generally a cover or closure plate which overlies the opening. A depressible bubble projects up out of the plane of the plate. A plurality of angularly spaced and downwardly projecting legs is provided along the periphery of the bubble. The legs are spaced relative to each other and to the locklift hole so as to be easily insertable therein. Upon depressing the bubble downwardly the legs are deflected outwardly into wedging engagement with the side walls of the hole. The cap is thus retained in the hole until a force is applied from the interior of the lock chamber to return the bubble to its original condition projecting I above the plane of the plate in which position the legs are released from the walls and the cap may be removed.

Further features of the invention will hereinafter appear.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is vertical cross sectional view of a coupler incorporating the cap structure of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary top plan view of the cap inserted in the locklift hole. FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view taken generally along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT movement between a release position in which the knuckle 12 is movable to an open position and a lock position in which the knuckle 13 is in a locked closed position. Access to the lock chamber 18 is provided through a top locklift hole 19 to permit the coupler 10 be modified to top locklift operation. Normally the locklift hole 19 is closed with a metal cap which can be removed only with tools.

The locklift hole 19 as shown in FIG. 2 is formed with an end wall 21, side walls 2222 connected at one end to the end wall 21 by radii 23, and a semi-circular wall 24 extending between the other ends of the side walls 22--22. The walls 21, 22-22, and 24 diverge toward the inside of the housing 12 as shown in FIG. 3.

The closure cap or plug 10 is made from a plastic material such as polyethelene, polypropelene or the like and is formed as by molding. The plastic material preferably has a low modulus of elasticity.

The closure cap 10 includes a flat closure plate 26 shaped generally similar to the contour of the locklift hole 19. The plate area is greater, however, to provide a marginal portion which sealingly overlies the edge portion about the hole 19.

A bubble 27 is formed within central portion of the closure plate 26. The bubble 27 normally projects upwardly out of the plane plate 27. A plurality of angularly spaced legs 28 project downwardly from the bubble 27 along the periphery thereof. The upper end of inner surfaces 29 of the legs 28 lie along a circle and are angularly spaced from each other about The inner surface 29 is slightly inclined outwardly relative to the vertical at an angle of about 15. The outer surface 30 is substantially normal to the plane of the plate 26. The bottom or terminal end of the leg is provided with an inwardly inclined base 31 which merges with inner face 29.

As shown, the outer surfaces 30 of the legs 28 are spaced from the walls 21 and 24 of the locklift hole 19 when the bubble 27 projects upwardly. This permits the cap 10 to be easily inserted in the locklift hole 19. Thereafter. a downward force or pressure is applied on the bubble 27 so that it is inverted as shown in phantom lines in FIG. 3. In this position of the bubble 27, the legs 28 are deflected radial outward toward a generally horizontal position. This causes the bases 31 of the legs 28 to frictionally engage the semi-circular wall 24 and the end wall 21 so that the cap 10 is wedged in the locklift opening 19.

Should an attempt be made to strip the cap from the coupler as by lifting of the closure plate 26 along its edge, the legs 28 are inclined further toward the horizontal thereby to further increase the wedging action. This prevents tampering with the cap from the exterior of the coupler.

The cap 10 may be removed by insertinga rodor the like through the locklift chamber 18 after the cqmponents housed therein are removed. The wells usedlto apply a force causing the bubble 27 to be returned to its original upwardly projecting position. In this position, the legs 28 are released from the walls 24 and 21 of the locklift hole 19 so that the cap 10 may be removed without any difficulty.

It should be understood that the arrangement described above constitutes the preferred embodiment and that many adaptations and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, a projection can be provided at the center outside of the dome which can be pulled to return the cap to the release position for removal when resistance to vandalism is not necessary.

I claim:

1. In a railway vehicle coupler having a housing including a locklift hole formed with inwardly diverging walls, a plastic cap to seal said locklift hole, said plastic cap comprising a closure plate shaped to overlie and seal said locklift hole, said closure plate having a generally centrally located bubble projecting upwardly out of the plane of said plate, a plurality of angularly spaced legs projecting downwardly from said bubble adjacent the periphery thereof, said legs being insertable into said hole and deflected outwardly away from each other upon downward application of a force depressing and partially inverting said bubble inwardly whereby said legs are wedgingly engageable with said walls of said hole.

2. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said legs are released from locking engagement only when a force is applied from the interior of the lock chamber to return said bubble to the outwardly projecting position.

3. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said legs each include an inclined base which when the legs are deflected outwardly engage the side walls of said opening,

4. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said legs each include a surface radially spaced from the center of said bubble and inclined inwardly with respect to the plate which when the legs are deflected outwardly engage the side walls of said opening.

5. The invention as defined in claim 4 wherein the bottom portion of at least one of the radially spaced surfaces is inclined less than the top portion to underlie the edge of the opening when the dome is depressed and the legs are deflected outwardly.

6. A plastic cap to seal a hole in the wall of a member, said plastic cap comprising a closure plate shaped to overlie and seal said hole, said closure plate having a generally centrally located bubble projecting upwardly out of the plane of said plate, a plurality of angularly spaced legs projecting downwardly from said bubble adjacent the periphery thereof, said legs being insertable into said hole and deflected outwardly away from each other upon application of a force depressing s'aid bubble inwardly whereby said legs are wedgingly engaged within the said hole. 

1. In a railway vehicle coupler having a housing including a locklift hole formed with inwardly diverging walls, a plastic cap to seal said locklift hole, said plastic cap comprising a closure plate shaped to overlie and seal said locklift hole, said closure plate having a generally centrally located bubble projecting upwardly out of the plane of said plate, a pluralitY of angularly spaced legs projecting downwardly from said bubble adjacent the periphery thereof, said legs being insertable into said hole and deflected outwardly away from each other upon downward application of a force depressing and partially inverting said bubble inwardly whereby said legs are wedgingly engageable with said walls of said hole.
 2. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said legs are released from locking engagement only when a force is applied from the interior of the lock chamber to return said bubble to the outwardly projecting position.
 3. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said legs each include an inclined base which when the legs are deflected outwardly engage the side walls of said opening.
 4. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said legs each include a surface radially spaced from the center of said bubble and inclined inwardly with respect to the plate which when the legs are deflected outwardly engage the side walls of said opening.
 5. The invention as defined in claim 4 wherein the bottom portion of at least one of the radially spaced surfaces is inclined less than the top portion to underlie the edge of the opening when the dome is depressed and the legs are deflected outwardly.
 6. A plastic cap to seal a hole in the wall of a member, said plastic cap comprising a closure plate shaped to overlie and seal said hole, said closure plate having a generally centrally located bubble projecting upwardly out of the plane of said plate, a plurality of angularly spaced legs projecting downwardly from said bubble adjacent the periphery thereof, said legs being insertable into said hole and deflected outwardly away from each other upon application of a force depressing said bubble inwardly whereby said legs are wedgingly engaged within the said hole. 